The Com Line
First Rally
We started at 7:30 a.m. and finished up about 4:00 p.m. with members diving first. Students from the College were then allowed to dive the old gear after each one was given a brief explanation of how to safely use the gear and its controls. All toll, about twenty members and students got to dive. Members present were Charlie Orr, Duke Drake, Dorothy Barstad, Rick (aka Reek) Erickson, Mark Howell, Dale Erickson, Alan Pilkington and Al Perez.
The College of Oceaneering provided everyone with a great lunch of barbequed hamburgers. After the Rally, several members and family met at Charlie Orr's house for another barbeque and B.S. session. The TOA hat was in the center of the table as "Guest of Honor".
Our special thanks to Alek Haidos, Stephanie Radzyminski, and Eric Hexdall from the College. As well as Jim Boyd, NEWEG; Rick Koellner, Desco Corp; Leslie Leaney, HDS USA; and Eric Bakker, Antiques of the Sea.
Upcoming Events
Another Rally is planned for January at the same location. Equipment available for this dive will be "Reek" Erickson's Desco Mk V, Charlie Orr's Schrader Mk V, Duke Drake's, Japanese Hat and possibly a Chinese 12 Bolt. Also, several members plan to bring their classic scuba gear. Two new Mark V dresses were bought. Also another Kim dress. On display will be a Morse Helium Hat! Mark your calendars for this one. This Rally should be even better then the last.
There is the possibility of a combined Rally at Denver Colorado in June 1999. This will be with the newly forming "Mountain State WEG."
We also plan a dive next summer using a restored 1943 Devilbis compressor and volume tank. As of now all dates are pending, but members will be notified as soon as the dates are set.
How We Got Started
Charlie Orr and Duke Drake have been interested in diving since youngsters growing up in the Los Angeles Harbor area. Both men are members of the HDS and collect diving equipment.
After much debate and advice from Jim Boyd and Leslie Leaney, they placed a classified in "Historical Diver" to see if there where others who would be interested in forming a classic diving group for California. In a short time they signed on seven members.
Duke made several calls before he was able to locate a dive site. Alek Haidos, of the College of Oceaneering, invited us to join them for their Student Appreciation Day on September 12. After the Rally, our membership more than doubled.
With the success of the first Rally, and plans already in progress for another rally early in 1999 at the same location, we seem to be off and running.
We are on the Web!
Well . . . , almost. Dorothy Barstad has been busy getting us a website and hopes to have it up and running soon. Right now it is little more then a test screen but can be viewed at:
www.geocities.com/Pipeline/Halfpipe/4507
Dorothy has also taken on the responsibility of designing and printing our applications and news letter.
What's Happening
Rick "Reek" Erickson just bought a WWII Desco Mk V and plans to bring this to our next Rally. He has also purchased another Kim dress for the Japanese hat. Reek plans to send the Mk V back to Desco for rehab to have it "dive ready" in January.
Duke Drake is busy restoring a WWII Mk V Com Box from the dive ship "Chanticleer". He is not sure if it will be ready for the January rally, but he says he is trying.
Duke's interest in diving and hard hat gear started at an early age while growing up in the Los Angeles Harbor area and later in Arroyo Grande, California where the family moved while Duke was in Middle School.
Duke completed high school in Arroyo Grande and enlisted in the Air Force. During his four years of service he was stationed at Albuquerque, New Mexico and worked as a helicopter mechanic.
After returning to Arroyo Grande, he was employed at the Diablo Nuclear facility as a security guard. Duke continues to work for PG&E at Diablo as Security Supervisor. During this period of time, he also acquired a B.S. degree in Business Administration.
Duke owns an early Japanese Abalone Hat which he is in the process of restoring. His antique one-diver com box is also being overhauled. Duke wired all the hats we use for the Rally's and has built his own two-diver com box. Duke's goal is to own and dive his own Mk V outfit and to own and restore a hand crank pump.
He is a member of the Historical Diving Society and a co-founder of the California Classic Equipment Divers group.
He resides in Arroyo Grande with his wife, Rhonda, and three children.